Leo Valiquette's latest update for Bane of All Things

Dec 12, 2021

Bane of All Things is away!

Launch day on Tuesday, Dec. 7 went well. Those of you who pre-ordered e-books would have received emails that day from Inkshares to download in the file format of your choice. For print copies, these are on their way. Being the busy holiday season for mail and parcel delivery, it could be another week or so before print copies arrive.

As a supporter of my original pre-order campaign more than two years ago, thank you again for taking that leap of faith then and for your patience in the long months since. I also owe huge debts of gratitude to everyone who further supported BoAT’s launch by spreading the word on social media in recent days, by reading advance reader copies to provide advance reviews and blurbs, and by graciously taking the time to contribute in other ways. All efforts are deeply and sincerely appreciated. 

That first time seeing your novel on a bookstore shelf

While in town on Wednesday for my next round of immunotherapy treatment, we had to of course stop in at the local Chapters-Indigo to see BoAT on an actual bookstore shelf. (For my American and overseas friends, Chapters is Canada’s big national bookstore chain.)

A member of the store staff saw me posing this photo with my wife. When this lady learned I was in fact the author, she had me sign the store’s copies. And a gentleman promptly bought one to add to his collection of signed first editions!

My first in-store experience as an author, and it came about by chance. Which was awesome, considering no local bookstores that I am aware of are currently doing any formal in-store author events because of the pandemic.

A family friend later visited that same store and took this shot of my signed copies – thank you, Gwen C.!

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What’s next? Bring on the reviews!

The release of a debut novel is a huge milestone. But it’s also just the first step from the starting line of a marathon. Now comes the grind of working to stand out from the crowd. It’s tough for any debut author to rise above with so many other titles competing for readers’ attention. 

A vital part of gaining the attention of the book-buying public is getting a critical mass of reviews on Amazon and any other review sites you may frequent such as Goodreads.com. The more reviews a book has, the more prominence it gets on these sites to draw the attention of readers. 

Stay safe, enjoy the holidays, and keep reading!

Cheers

Leo

P.S.: There is a Glossary at the back of the book you may find handy.